Lunsford and Shaughnessy Essays

Andrea A. Lunsford's "Cognitive Development and the Basic Writer" argues that basic writers do not yet have the cognitive level of experienced writers, and that is the reason they cannot perform analysis and synthesis effectively. They find difficulties in trying to infer and form their own opinions based on what was read. Lunsford then went on to explain that researchers including Piaget and Vygotsky argue that the development of a higher cognitive level comes from first doing, then doing consciously, and finally formally conceptualizing. According to Lunsford, basic writing classes should revolve around small workshop groups that keep every member actively involved. Also, the teacher should come up with assignments and drills that have the students continually practicing. Furthermore, since the group is working together, they will be involved in what Lunsford calls inferential problem-solving as opposed to simply doing a drill, or strict memorization. Lunsford then goes into the idea of sentence-combining exercises to help basic writers go from imitating other modes/ideas in writing, and transition into generating their own original ideas and synthesis of the material.
Mina P. Shaughnessy's "Diving In: An Introduction to Basic Writing" offers four basic stages that teachers go through as they develop their craft. The first stage, Guarding the Tower, explains that the new teacher is focused on following the rules and protecting the academy (of learners) from those who don't belong. I take that to mean that the teacher is focused on those who do belong to the academy of learners, but the problem is that many of the beginning writers might not. Then, the teacher enters the second stage, Converting the Natives, when they realize that the class has some students that might catch up if they have the right instruction. Next, the teacher enters the third stage, Sounding the Depths, where they observe if their students are improving upon their writing, and look at themselves as a writer as well as a teacher. The final stage, Diving In, is when the teacher decided to remediate himself and become a student of new disciplines and of his students, in an attempt to deduce the things they are struggling with as well as the things at which they excel, according to Shaughness. It is finally deciding to help them learn to write well and enter the community of the educable.
These two essays were difficult for me to relate to because they did not really correlate to my career choice since I am not going into teaching. However, when I tried to apply the Lunsford essay to my tutoring experience, I felt like it had more merit. My tutee has, on both papers that we have looked at, tried to summarize what he has read and then adds his own opinion very minimally at the end of the paper. I felt like this is waht Lunsford was getting at when she said that beginning writers have difficulty with synthesis and really applying what they have read. That is something I hope to work on with him, and this essay helped me to recognize that it is a basic problem that is very common for beginning writers. I hope that much of the discussion we have generated can help him bridge the gap and really come up with his own reaction to the peice he is synthesizing. Also, the Shaughnessy essay really reinforced the role that I must take as a tutor in helping my tutee to write well. He already has strong opinions, does the work, and seems to be a serious student. Now he just needs to work on making those verbal discussions translate into his synthesis, such that it is not simply a summary. I think Shaughnessy would refer to this as the tutor "diving in."